Revolution Depth Tested Against Montreal

Williams: I think again, collectively, we could have been a little bit sharper in different parts of the game, but I thought we kind of set ourselves up as the game went on to walk away with a point.

Photo Courtesy of the New England Revolution

The New England Revolution certainly had a “next man up” mentality when they faced CF Montreal on Saturday.

The Revs collected a 4-0 home win over Montreal on April 8, 2023. Five months later, only six of the players in that squad traveled north of the border for the rematch.

Before the game, Revolution senior editor Jeff Lemieux noted that Djordje Petrovic, Jozy Altidore, and Latif Blessing are no longer with the club while DeJuan Jones, Henry Kessler, Brandon Bye, Dylan Borrero, and Gustavo Bou are dealing with injuries. Jack Panayotou also didn’t travel this weekend.

This, along with Andrew Farrell being currently sidelined, forced the Revs to use a different lineup. One notable change was Matt Polster playing right back.

According to Transfermarkt, Polster has 36 professional starts at right back. His last came on March 8, 2020 while playing for Rangers. Polster also played that position during his only cap with the U.S. Men’s National Team.

Thin on options, Polster lined up as a right back on Saturday.

“We’re all professionals so whenever you’re called to play in any position, that’s what you have to do,” Mark-Anthony Kaye remarked. “Matt’s a good guy and I’m glad he stepped up there, but I think any player on our team would play in any position for this club. That’s the standard we’ve set here.”

Revs assistant coach Richie Williams praised Polster after the game, saying, “I thought he did a solid job. He's obviously a different player than Brandon and DeJuan in that position, but he was solid and did a good job.”

The game against Montreal also marked the second league start of the season for Earl Edwards Jr., Omar Gonzalez, and Damien Rivera.

Despite so many changes, Williams thought the team as a whole did fine. In fact, he believes his men could’ve walked away with something if not for a late defensive lapse that allowed George Campbell to score in the 86th minute.

“I don't think anybody was poor on the day,” Williams said. “I think again, collectively, we could have been a little bit sharper in different parts of the game, but I thought we kind of set ourselves up as the game went on to walk away with a point, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.”